Paint roller wiping and saturating devices



c. J. AVERNA 2,893,030

PAINT ROLLER WIPING AND SATURATING DEVICES July 7, 1959 I Filed Oct. 17, 1955 INVENTOR.

' CARL J. AVERNA FIG, 4

jaw A-r-r Y.

W \\l.l.lllv

A PAINT ROLLER WIPINGVAND SATURATING DEVICES Carl J. Averna, Janesville, Wis. Application October 17, 1955, Serial No. 540,993

3 Claims. (Cl. 1 --121.2)

device which may be easily and readily inserted into and mounted on a paint bucket.

Another object of this invention is to provide a onepiece paint roller wiping and saturating device which is insertably mountable in a paint bucket so that the device is substantially within the bucket but occupies very little .space within the bucket and is advantageously disposed therein to thereby leave ample available space therein for dipping and manipulating brushes, stirring sticks, paint rollers and the like.

It is an additional object of this invention provide a device as above set forth which, when a paint roller is rollingly wiped over the wiping and saturating surface of the device, deforms the soft, absorbent applicator material on the roller to aid in satin'ating the applicator material with paint and to do so without excessively wearing or fraying the applicator material.

A further object of this invention is to provide a de vice as above set forth which, when the roller is rollingly engaging the wiping and saturating surface of the device, temporarily retains some of the paint on that surface for use in saturating the applicator material on the roller, and after a time, effectively drains all the excess paint from that surface back into the paint in the paint bucket.

Objects and advantages other than those set forth above will be apparent from the following description, when read in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, in which:

Fig. l is a side elevational view of a paint bucket having operatively secured therein a device embodying the invention;

Fig. 2 is a top plan view of the structure shown in Fig. 1;

Fig. 3 is a perspective view, partly broken away, of the same structure and showing a paint roller in operative relation thereto;

Fig. 4 is a sectional view taken along line 4--4 of Fig. 1; and

Fig. 5 is a perspective view of the device removed from the bucket.

Referring to the drawings, wherein like reference numerals denote like elements, there is shown a paint roller wiping and saturating device 6 which is insertably mountable within a paint bucket 7. The device 6 has a vertical portion 8 which depends vertically down from one side (the inside) of a horizontal shelf portion 9. This shelf portion 9 forms a convenient horizontal top or resting place for brushes, paint rollers, stirring sticks and the like when such tools are not in use. The shaft portion of a roller, for example, can be supported by shelf 9 to balancingly support the roller; the cylindrical roller part of the device being to the inside of the shelf 9 and United States Patent 6 2. the handle of the roller being to the outside of shelf 9. The cylindrical roller part of the device thus may be disposed entirely out of the paint in the bucket but entirely over the bucket so as not to become overly saturated and not to drip paint outside ofthe bucket. A pair of ears 10, each of which depends vertically down from an opposite end of the other side (outside) of the horizontal portion 9, provides locking means for securably mounting the device 6 within the paint bucket. Inside as used herein means the side toward the center of the paint bucket and outside means the side away from the center of the bucket.

The vertical portion 8 is flat, i-.e. non-curved as distinguished from the curved upright side wall of the bucket has ribs 11 projecting from the inside surface thereof. This inside or front surface of portion 8 is the wiping and saturating surface over which a paint roller is rollingly wiped or engaged after having been dipped in the paint in the bucket. The ribs 11 may be formed in any suitable manner such as by indenting the back or outside surface of portion 8, thus forming indents 12 therein, and forming the projecting ribs 11 on the front or inside surface of portion 8. The ribs 11 are formed in parallel, inverted V-shaped lines, with the legs of each V slanting downwardly away from the point of the V at a slight angle with the horizontal.

Ribs 11 are disposed relatively close together and cover the major part of the front or inside surf-ace of portion 8 to thus present a corrugated surface to the roller. This corrugated surface, formed by ribs 11 functions to indentingly deform the soft, absorbent applicator material on the roller to freely impregnate and saturate the applicator material with paint. The ribs 11 also furnish traction for the roller to insure rolling action of the roller over this surface without slipping.

The ribs are arranged slantingly at an appropriate slight angle with the horizontal so as to effectively drain excess paint from the surface. The ribs also act as shelves to retain paint thereon temporarily ,as the roller is being rollingly wiped across the ribbed surface, thus maintaining a supply of paint for absorption by those p ortions of the applicator material which are indentingly deformed by the ribs. This action insures suff cient impregnation and saturation of the applicator material with paint. A slight angle of slant or slope of the ribs is effective for this purpose and also for draining olf excess paint after the roller has been removed from the ribbed surface to be used for painting; it having been found that approximately 15 degrees is excellent.

The inverted V-shaped ribs drainingly direct paint downwardly away from the points of the V-shaped ribs. Half of the paint drains one way and half the other, rather than all one Way as would be the case with ribs traversing the portion 8 in a straight line from edge to edge. It has been found that this V arrangement of the ribs acts to saturae the roller applicator material more evenly across the axial direction of the roller than do ribs which are arranged straight across the surface from edge to edge.

As shown best in Fig. 5, the inverted V-shaped ribs extend completely across the device, interrupting both vertical edges of the device. This provides exceptionally good drainage because the ribs are endless, i.e., they do not end against a frame or other abutting structure, and they do not terminate short of the edges of the device.

The portion 8 is imperforate and it has been found that the ribs 11 on the imperforate surface of portion 8 function to deform the applicator material without wearing and fraying the applicator material as is the case with devices utilizing perforated or openwork surfaces. The ribs 11 on the imperforate surface function as shelves to effectively retain paint temporarily for saturating the away from the ribbed surface to provide a top or shelf portion 9. The outside corners of portion 9 are then bent substantially 90 degrees away from the ribbed surface to form the ears 10. A hole 13 may be provided for hanging the device on a nail or hook while coating or painting the device during manufacture of the device and also for hanging the device, after manufacture, when not in use.

'When the device 6 is placed operatively into a paint bucket, the vertical portion 8 is inserted into the bucket and rests on the bottom thereof. Bars 10 overlap the rim of the bucket on the outside thereof. The ears 10 thus .limit movement of the device towards the center of the bucket. Portion 8 limits movement of the device away from the center of the bucket as it engages the bucket as .a chord of a circle, as shown in Figs. 2 and 3. The device :is thus securely held in place against radial movement. However, the device is easily movable circumferentially around the bucket.

Portion 8 is disposed upright, i.e. substantially vertically, in the bucket and the dimension of portion 9 which is perpendicular to portion 8 is such that the device 6, when'in place in the bucket, takes up very little space. The device 6 is thus located close to one side of the bucket, being disposed entirely to one side of the center of the bucket. There is therefore ample space in the bucket for the dipping and manipulating of rollers, brushes, stirring sticks and the like. A roller thus can be rolled over the ribbed surface unobstructingly, without engaging the sides of the bucket. A convenient arrangement, to this end, is to dimension the portion 9 so that the device extends from the edge of the bucket inwardly to about one-half the distance to the center of the bucket. The device is dimensioned and positioned so that the handle of the bucket may be swung completely through its normal path and easily clear the device. The bucket, with the device therein, can thus easily be picked up and ,,carried from place to place.

Although only one embodiment of the invention has the drawings, the sheet is bent substantially 90 degrees 4 been illustrated and described, it will be obvious to those skilled in the art that various changes or modifications may be made therein without departing from the spirit of the invention or from the scope of the appended claims.

It is claimed and desired to secure by Letters Patent:

1. A paint bucket comprising a bottom, an upright curved side wall, and an upright flat wall for paint roller wiping and saturating use, said flat wall having rigid ribs integrally thereon extending completely thereacross interrupting both upright edges thereof, said ribs being parallel inverted V-shaped ribs with the points thereof aligned in a vertical upright line and with the legs thereof slanted downwardly from said points.

2. A one-piece paint roller Wiping and saturating device for insertion into a paint bucket comprising: a horizontal top shelf portion for disposition over the rim of said bucket; a vertical roller engaging portion depending from the inside of said shelf portion for disposition within said bucket; and a pair of vertical ear portions each depending from opposite ends of the outside of said shelf portion for disposition without said bucket, said vertical roller engaging portion having ribs projecting from the surface thereof on the side opposite said ear portions, said ribs extending completely across the device interrupting both vertical edges of the device, said ribs being parallel inverted V-shaped ribs with the points thereof aligned vertically and with the legs thereof slanted downwardly from said points.

3. The invention defined in claim 2 wherein said engaging portion is imperforate and wherein said ribs are slanted downwardly at an angle of approximately 15 of the horizontal.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 68,481 Audauin Sept. 3, 1867 218,431 Dunham Aug. 12, 1879 1,356,973 Currie Oct. 26, 1920 1,487,343 Leeson Mar. 18, 1924 1,700,585 Grismer Jan. 29, 1929 2,705,334 Farrow Apr. 5, 1955 2,777,142 Verde Jan. 15, 1957 FOREIGN PATENTS 278,016 Switzerland Ian. 3, 1952 1,077,881 France May 5, 1954 

